


Breath

by minikawa



Category: Monster (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Domestic, F/M, Fluff, I wrote this on impulse, M/M, Nostalgia, i have jumped onto the karlhan train and there is no going back and i dont want to go back, karlhan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-20 23:24:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21064916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minikawa/pseuds/minikawa
Summary: “How did you feel when you looked at my mother?”The old man had been blind a long, long time. But in this moment, Karl could see the glint of nostalgia and memory dancing in his father’s eyes.





	Breath

“How did you feel when you looked at my mother?”

The old man had been blind a long, long time. But in this moment, Karl could see the glint of nostalgia and memory dancing in his father’s eyes. 

“There were times I couldn’t breathe,” he said. “We wouldn’t even be doing anything special. I remember we would sit by the fire together...I would muttering over business papers while your mother would read her favorite classical novels. Those evenings were always quiet, always silent...just our shared breaths and the crackling of fire. 

And then…she would look up from her book. And she would smile.”

Karl had never seen this look on his father’s face before. Shuwald’s gaze remained transfixed on the window, seeing not the spring sun shining over their garden, but the warmth of Margot’s eyes. 

“Her smile alone could snatch the very breath from my lungs. I felt I would die...but although it would have been a sweet death, I did not wish to relinquish my life so easily. If I had died, I knew I would never see Margot...no,  _ Helenka’s  _ lovely smile ever again. So I fought for my breath. I fought to live. 

Your mother’s smile made me want to embrace life.”

There was a knock on the door. Once Shuwald had given his permission for entrance, a familiar blonde face emerged from behind. Johan delicately carried a tea tray in his hands. 

“Forgive my interruption,” he said, “but I know Shuwald would never forgive me if I had forgotten to make his afternoon tea.”

Johan’s eyes locked with Karl’s. And that’s when he felt his breath catch itself within his chest. 

In that moment, Karl realized everything his father meant.

**Author's Note:**

> my pal Spy got me into the Karlhan, and I will now tie myself to the mast of the ship
> 
> This ended up being a lil primarily Shuwald and Helenka flewjflwkjf but I definitely will write more Karlhan in the very very near future huehuehuehue...


End file.
